ReGenesis
by Hrunting
Summary: With Sunnydale gone and an army of slayers arisen, our intrepid heroes must face new challenges and adapt to new roles. They also must deal with new information about thier victory in Sunnydale
1. ReGenesisC1

TITLE: ReGenesis   
AUTHOR: Hrunting(crc@crcdesign.net)  
RATING: PG  
DISCLAIMER: No infringement of copyright is intended. Joss Whedon/ME and Fox own Buffy, I'm just playing in the sandbox they've abandoned.  
FEEDBACK: Please. Praise me, contradict me, correct me, flame me - whatever.  
SUMMARY: With Sunnydale gone and an army of Slayers arisen, our intrepid heroes face new challenges and changing roles.  


A circle of eight squat candles burned in front of Willow, reflecting off the scythe in her lap and casting highlights across her pale face. She sat cross-legged with her eyes closed, allowing the earth's power to flow through her and to connect her to the light emitted by the flames. The glow from the candles seemed to intensify as time passed, transforming the pitch black of the room around them into a dimly lit chamber of shifting shadows and light. Gradually, the light coalesced in the center of the circle about a foot above unperturbed flames.

The swirling mass of light seemed self-contained, somehow isolated from its environment, plunging the rest of the room again into darkness. The mass of light divided though, individual points separated one by one and floated into their appropriate positions before the red witch.

Willow grinned and opened her eyes knowing that things were proceeding smoothly thus far. The difficult part of the spell was nearly complete. Once the map was established, she need only learn what she could from it and then allow the power to return to the earth.

She reached out tentatively, bringing the tip of her index finger gently towards the nearest point of light. '_No matter how many times I do this,_' she thought, '_I just keep expecting it to burn._' But the light, as always, offered no physical sensation of its own. The heat from the candle's flame dissipated normally. It was only light that she held on this plane for the spell to do its work.

While her slender finger and the point of light occupied the same apparent physical space, images and information flooded her mind. To one sensitive as she was, the scythe nearly rang with power reacting to the light she touched. '_There lays a Slayer,_' it told her.

Willow could see the girl's plump, flushed face, the short auburn hair not much different from her own. The house she lived in with her widowed father was a 2-story Victorian not much more than a mile from the hotel. Sarah was the girl's name. She'd simply been eating some leftover Pad Thai for lunch when another spell had conferred upon her the mantle of Slayerhood. She'd felt the change, but had done nothing that made it obvious. Right now she was dozing on the couch, absently watching some movie on TV and thinking of... Colin Ferrell looking up from between her...

"Oh! Oops - sorry," said Willow aloud, embarrassedly drawing her hand back from Sarah's point of light. She committed the girl's location to memory and tried to clear her mind of what she'd just seen. There was nothing she could do to change the voyeuristic nature of her work, and the work must be done. Still, it was odd just how often she'd stumbled on such imaginings in the minds of her targets. It seemed an even worse violation of the girls to mention it to Buffy, but Willow was really starting to wonder if this was, at least to some extent, a slayer thing. "Sure," muttered Willow to herself, "I'll just ask: 'Hey, Buffy do you think you're hornier than other girls?'"

The door to Willow's hotel room opened at that and Buffy's head popped in. "What was that, Wil?" She asked, chipper and smiling brightly enough to almost outshine the flood of actual sunlight coming through the open door. "Did you call me?"

"Huh? Oh, I said... nothing. I was just... thinking aloud. About um... not you."

"Oh." She said, not thinking much about having misheard her friend. Buffy's eyes widened though when she noticed the ring of candles still lit on the floor. "Oh, God, I'm sorry. Did I disturb the spell?"

"No," said Willow, smiling. "No, it's okay. You'll have to come inside and close the door for me to see the lights, but everything's pretty stable once it's set up."

Buffy entered the room cradling several large brown paper grocery bags. Dawn followed her in, similarly laden, muttering something about not getting that super-slayer package-carrying strength.

With the room again sealed from the light outside, Willow's eyes quickly adjusted and she reached for the next pinpoint on her map.

Buffy cocked an eyebrow, deciding that this silent show wasn't going to qualify as entertainment for too long. She looked over at her sister, beautiful in simple blue jeans and silver on black Raiders t-shirt, gazing in rapt attention at Willow's progress. Such inspiration. "I think we need to do a little more shopping."

The younger Summers turned her wide-eyed admiration of Willow suddenly into wide-eyed exasperation and sputtered at her sister. "For what? We have enough food for weeks!"

"No, I was thinking of something a little more fun."

"Ooh, " cried Dawn, getting a little more into the idea now. "Can we go back to that arms antiquities dealer and play spot the fakes again?"

"Um, I was thinking something a little less 'Katana' a little more 'Prada'."

  


_Someone's poking me. Right on a very sore shoulder. Come to think of it, that sore shoulder is attached to a very sore body and a very tired me._

_Still with the poking._

_Who the . . ._ "hell!" she finished the thought in a shout, striking out without looking, but connecting solidly with the torso of her tormentor.

"Damn girl, you're getting harder and more dangerous to wake up every morning - er afternoon."

Rona opened her eyes a slit to see the grinning Faith standing over her rubbing the lower ribs that had just been struck. "You're just lucky I don't sleep with a stake under my pillow."

"Huh, you're just lucky I wasn't a vamp. Their wake up calls aren't so gentle. Maybe we ought to add that to the curriculum: 'surprise attacks in your sleep 101.'"

"Will that be 7th period, right after 'partying all night with your teacher' or will you combine that with the junk food and cigarettes lunch break?"

"Hey, we managed to dust four vamps between dances *and* I got a solid lead on two nests in this burg. As for lunch, I picked some things up while you were still snoring this morning. Oranges, bananas and some absolutely massive shrimp that seems to be popular here."

Rona sat up on the bed, trying to think and focus her bleary eyes at the same time. An orange would taste just about prefect right now. "Snore? I don't snore!"

Ignoring the contradiction, Faith continued. "Once you're done with breakfast or lunch or whatever, we need to get a move on those nests while there's plenty of daylight left - Tina's already out scouting. Whenever we're done we gotta check in with Giles. He should know more about our base-camp plans by now."

The weight of these plans pulled Rona closer to the conscious world. She looked over at Adina - the new slayer they'd come to Guaymas to find - and asked, "How do you suppose she's taking it?"

"About as well as any of us did, I guess. At least she's not alone." Faith thought for a moment then said, "Not that that solves everything, but it can help."


	2. ReGenesisC2

ReGenesis   
Chapter 2  
  


Red, gold, and blue light seemed to glow from the oaken pews, burnished by decades of supporting the asses of the faithful. Giles grinned at himself for such impious thoughts as he sat near the back of the cathedral. Which one of them would have been most likely to say that? Xander perhaps? "Asses of the faithful" indeed.

The last confessor exited the booth along the right wall and crossed to genuflect before the alter, drawing Giles' gaze. It seemed inappropriate to watch the man, to wonder what sins he sought absolution of. Far better to study the windows casting those ethereal glows. One in particular caught his eye. St. Matthias, bearded and bald, leaning heavily on a long double-edged ax with a bible drooping from one hand. A fire-red Judas tree glowed behind him - perhaps taunting, perhaps warning. Peter's words at Matthias' selection echoed through Giles' mind, "You, Lord, know the hearts of men; make your choice known to us." Would the Vatican's decision on this matter be guided by God's knowledge? Even if it were, who could say what it meant. Would rejection simply mean that the slayer would be better served thus, or would it mean condemnation? 

There could hardly be guidence on that point from these educational picturebooks on a grand scale. Perhaps enjoying that otherworldly glow they cast would be better without accepting the effect of leaving the bright world of man for the mysterious world of God. _The world of God? So much information - so many experiences outside the world of man. But what do I know of God?_

A large, gentle hand on his shoulder told Giles that Father Benedict was finished with his regular duties for the afternoon and ready for the discussion for which he'd come. He met the priest's eyes looking for some indication of the decision but years of preaching to the unfaithful and hearing the confessions of the unrepentant had leant Benedict a stony facade that could clean up at any poker table east of Las Vegas.

Giles stood and followed the burly man to the sacristy. The spartan room held little but an old steel desk, two chairs, a small bookshelf packed with official church publications and a wardrobe in which the priest now hung his vestments. The man remained silent and he straightened the robes and strode across the worn carpet, lowering himself into the chair behind the desk and indicating the other to Giles. The two gazed at each other for a long moment before Giles stood again, unable to contain himself any longer.

"Well? You've heard from them?"

"Yes."

"And?"

"You understand that this wasn't an easy decision for anyone involved. Between the Church's... official position on vampires and the like, and the blatant disrespect the Council has shown over the centuries..."

"A council that no longer exists!"

"I know, Rupert. I... I just want to make sure you understand the significance of this. The Vatican hasn't been actively involved in the physical aspects of the struggle for a very long time."

"We're not asking for your involvement, James, just..."

"You want us to house the Slayer - Slayer*s* if what you say is true. You set a few committees into a tizzy with that bit of news, I'll have you know. I can't imagine much more direct involvement that that."

"But will you do it? I mean, the council had vast resources, but most of them are gone or-or at least temporarily unavailable to me..."

"Yes."

"... We're going to be... Yes? You'll do it?"

"The Vatican has instructed the Diocese of Cleveland that I am to establish a small international school for 'troubled girls'. They are sending an advisor - I'm not yet sure who, but it will be someone familiar with your situation - and I am to hire secular instructors as necessary and convert the existing - currently condemned - school and lyceum for this purpose."

"Well that's fantastic!"

"Know that the budget they've given me is hardly extravagant. And know also that this absolutely must stay low-key. The last thing the Church needs is strange rumors about the odd English priest, the gentleman headmaster and a bunch of young girls."

"No, I assure you we'll be discrete."

"Look, it's not just the old grudges that make this difficult, Rupert. You know that don't you? I mean, I know what's out there, you and I saw plenty of it together. And I couldn't care less about the historical differences between the church and the council, there are much bigger things at stake here than our institutional pride."

"You're saying that you yourself have some other reservations?"

Father Benedict's chair creaked loudly as he slouched, leaning it back. He looked to the ceiling, ran a finger between the stiff white clerical collar and his neck and asked, "Reservations?" He pulled the starched white cloth from his shirt and held it in both hands, studying it for a moment before setting it down on the desk. "Some of the things I've heard - some of the people you have with you - the things they've done... I'm not so sure sanctioning your group is most appropriate move."

"What? What they've done? They fight evil! They risk their lives to save the world from vampires and-and demons and . . ."

"No. No, that's not what I mean. I know you're on the right side as far as the obvious, literal demons we face."

"What are you on about then?"

"Hm. Think about this Harris fellow you have with you then. Sitting outside in the bus watching over the girls you brought along?"

"A good man. Irreverent at times, but he's faced challenges you can't even imagine. He lost an eye saving one of the girls from the First Evil for God's sake."

"For **God's** sake Rupert? Was it for God's sake that he nearly married a demon? That he carried on a lengthy carnal affair with that same creature? And he's not alone. *Your* slayer herself has been with two vampires..."

"Both of whom had souls and fought by our side . . . Spike struck - or was - the final blow against the First Evil. A-and Anya herself died in that same battle."

"Yes, they fought by your side... sometimes. But, for **God's** sake? What about this Willow working with you? I'll not dwell as some of my superiors have on the fact her family is Jewish - I can think of one or two Jews who've contributed a bit to Christianity - but she's Wiccan *and* a lesbian. You want the church's blessing on her? Hopefully if we withdraw it she won't once again be consumed by magic and exact apocalyptic revenge. Lastly, but hardly the least of my concerns is this... Faith. An escaped convict isn't very good public relations."

Giles could only glare in response. For such an outsider to make judgments on these people who've given everything . . .

"My point isn't that your soldiers are evil or somehow unworthy. The things I did - we did in our youth... I know I'm in no position to cast stones. But you're bringing young girls into a church sponsored boarding school and these are the instructors you present as role models?"


	3. ReGenesisC3

ReGenesis   
Chapter 3  
  


Bright California sunshine streamed through massive windows and glinted off polished chrome, warmly bathing a sea of people as they went about their commercial pursuits. Buffy's smile widened as she surveyed the scene from a balcony in the mall with Dawn beside her. It reminded her of the past she abandoned when her calling became evident and the future that could - just maybe - be salvaged for her little sister.

Dawn sighed and rolled her eyes at her sister's reverie. This had, after all, been her idea - shopping, not people watching. There was even enough money from the check Giles had cut for their trip to allow some purchases. Prada was being a bit optimistic, but The Gap or Express was not out of the question. "Ooh, Express!" she said, spotting the glass storefront just across the corridor. This exclamation and a quick tug at Buffy's sleeve drew her attention back to the task at hand and they went into the shop.

Dawn started picking up one of practically everything in her size as though she were planning to buy out the entire store. Buffy picked through a few things at her side, but mostly contented herself with basking in the younger girl's cheer. With nearly everything they owned now in the hole that had been Sunnydale, there was some need for new clothes.

Dawn noticed the gleam in Buffy's eye and looked behind her before realizing that Buffy was smiling at her. "Why are you smiling like that? Do I have something in my hair?"

"No. I'm just. . . It's just good to see you like this. Happy. I know we haven't had a lot of happy times together."

"What are you talking about? We've had happy times. Like when you killed that Yesod demon. I know I for one was very happy about that."

"Ugh. That's just what I mean. I want you to have long normal happiness. Not moments of happy smushed between death and gore and zombies."

"I guess that's just my lot in life as the Slayer's sister," Dawn said absently as she headed off to the changing booths, both arms loaded with cutting edge fashions. She didn't see the grin drop from Buffy's face, but she heard the pain her sister's reply.

"No. That just isn't fair to you. And it shouldn't have to be that way now. However many new slayers there are, it should be enough that we can just leave it to them. . ."

"I'm sorry. I - I didn't mean that it's your fault." Dawn lowered her clothing onto the bench in the dressing booth and turned to face her sister. "Look, you can't help the way the world is. I know that. I don't blame you, Buffy. All you did was protect me. Teach me. Even though I'm not a slayer, I'm better prepared for most of what they'll face than they are. I don't know about you, but I'm not leaving this fight. There's too much to do. There's too much I can do." 

Seeing that Buffy was settled down for now but had to think about what she was hearing, Dawn closed the door and began to change into the best outfit she'd found.

"I don't know what to say to that. It's far too grown up a thing for my little sister to say." Dawn just groaned in response, but Buffy pressed her point, turning to pace. "Hey, I know you're not a little kid. But that's - It's not just a grown up thing it's. . . a good, noble - possibly quite stupid - thing to say." Dawn opened the dressing room door and Buffy said, "Mom would be proud of you," before she turned around.

Upon seeing Dawn's short skirt, slit to provide even less coverage and the shirt that covered far less than it left exposed even before considering what it's ridiculous tightness made clear, Buffy said, "But you're not getting that outfit."

"Mom would tell _you_ what a prude you are." Dawn quickly returned to the changing room and closed the door.

"Clearly you weren't along when she went shopping with me in high school." Silence reigned for a few moments with just the sound of Dawn rustling into a more modest, yet perfectly trendy ensemble before Buffy again addressed the door. "She would be proud though. Of the woman you've become. She'd tell us both to let the others handle it and she'd be sad that you had to grow up so quickly, so violently - but she'd love to see who you are now."

Dawn stepped out of the dressing booth wearing a far more modest, but still acceptably trendy outfit and saw how seriously Buffy meant all this. She stepped over and hugged her sister, whispering, "Thank you." 

The moment passed, they each stepped back, eyes shimmering with tears unshed as their mother had taught them better than to do so in such a public place. Buffy smiled and nodded approvingly at the new ensemble. Dawn's face brightened instantly with a new idea: "Think she'd buy us both a Mocha-Chino?"

  
  


In the dark hotel room, Willow reached for another point of light. Her eyes remained closed as she sensed the light through the magic she channeled to produce it. _Oh, this girl we'll need to find_, she thought. Just last night she had been nearly mugged, but beat the hell out of her attacker and a few of his friends - much to her surprise and his. Already today she'd been in three fights. Pure luck and the fact that she lived in a rough neighborhood were the only reasons the police weren't looking for her. . . yet.

It was clear before anything else that the next point was a slayer far away. The scythe had some sort of direct connection to the power that coursed through these girls - a connection that wasn't diminished by distance, but combined with the earth's power Willow was channeling, there was a different flavor to the points farther away. A salty tang in her mouth that signaled a girl who would have to deal with her new situation for a while before anyone would be able to explain it to her.

Still, she dutifully committed the details of the girl's location to memory for later transcription and began to move on to the next light. As her finger traversed the small space between distant slayers though, she felt something odd. Between the lights should be void, without any magical charge, but there was definitely something there - something that shouldn't be.

Willow opened her eyes to see a warm red glow filling the spaces between slayer dots on her map. The glow rapidly grew brighter, nearly obscuring the light that should be there, then began to swirl toward the empty space her finger was occupying. The fierce red glow began to feel warm.

  
  


The Summers sisters giggled as they mounted the steps to their room. The front desk attendant seemed to be keeping an especially close eye on the three girls in room 214 whenever they passed through the lobby and this time they couldn't help notice a little drool as they strode past, newly attired in the latest summer fashions. He wasn't exactly un-cute, but neither of them wanted to think about just where his imagination was taking him or how they might be involved.

"Willow really should have come along," said Dawn. "I know it's important to find everyone, but, I mean, we could have found her something to make Kennedy's eyes pop straight out of her head when we get to Cleveland."

"Somehow I don't think those two will need much help from you to. . . do. . . whatever is they. . ."

"Again, I say: prude. You just don't want me thinking about their hot lesbian love." Dawn grinned in fierce challenge to her sister's concerns.

Buffy knitted her eyebrows as she pulled their door open and began to enter the room. "Well, I just don't think it's really. . . My god, Willow!"

Dawn rushed into the room to find Willow lying on her side, drenched with sweat. Her right arm was still stretched out, index finger extended, twitching on the ground. As the door closed behind her, she could see the red glow infecting the room and disrupting her friend's spell. Buffy moved toward her, but Dawn blocked her. "Wait. We have no idea what that is - what it, or Willow's own power might do if we enter the circle."

"So what do we do? We can't just stand around and hope for the best."

"No." Dawn replied, her eyes searching the dim room. "Here, light this." She handed her sister a tall white candle and began to pick up other supplies. Dawn began casting the salt she'd helped Willow consecrate the night before in a wide circle that enveloped both her friend's circle and herself and Buffy. 

"Gia, forgive me for intruding on my sister-witch's intentions. Isis, guide me to the light and let my true intentions shine through this magic. Ochosi, help me to drive this evil spirit out!" Dawn sprinkle more of the salt over Willow's circle, but the red only grew brighter. She took her own atheme from its spot beside Willow's and cradled it, calling again, "Nocens dimitto! Abætere! Get Out!"

She pitched the atheme into the center of Willow's circle, it's blade embedding in the floor. The circle was broken and even Buffy could feel the power swirling around her. The red glow dispersed around the room then dissipated along with the points of light from Willow's spell, leaving the room lit only by the eight candles on the floor.

Dawn and Buffy both rushed to their friend's side. "Wil! Willow are you OK?"

Her whole body quaked and she could barely open her eyes, but Willow found the strength to make one thing clear: "Who -- whatever that was damn well better not try it again."

  
  


Four large rocks, weighing over 100 pounds each, were hurled into windows at different corners of the little house simultaneously, tearing the heavy curtains down as effectively as they shattered glass. Faith charged into her window immediately, in plenty of time to see one vamp who had been standing near the window demonstrate the convenient sunlight - immolation connection that had been one of her primary goals in picking this tactic. Another charged blindly, halting just in front of her to stare at his arm as it was seared by the harsh mid-afternoon sunlight.

'Just dumb animals', she thought. 'For all that vampires seem human, when you piss them off enough, they forget everything in favor of blind rage and animal instinct.' Her stake drove through the creature's chest and he burst into a cloud of ash without ever taking his eyes off the arm that had betrayed him in its pain. 'Then again, maybe that's one of the most human things about them.'

"What, you guys couldn't find a house with a basement even?" she asked of the five remaining vampires huddled in the shadows now.

A petite local vampire came flying backward into the room, landing and rolling to all fours with the supernatural grace endemic to the breed, but still unable to react in time to avoid her pursuer. Rona kneed her in the ribs and brought a stake down through her back, getting a lapful of vampire-dust.

Adina and Tina rushed in from their entry points, having found nothing, and helped their fellow brush off while Faith stared down their remaining opponents. The slayers stood in a pool of sunlight that flooded most of the living room and kept the vampires back. Five dead but completely aware pairs of eyes stared back, each with it's own unique mixture of fear and anger. Clearly they weren't planning to charge four slayers in full sunshine. Faith took a moment to check her charges. 

Rona was strong. Not just physically - they all had that now - but there was a force to her personality. There was real leadership potential in her and she'd proven to be a helluva soldier to have at your side or your back. Tina was even coming along. She was one of the last potentials to show up in Sunnydale and had seemed so archetypically feminine Faith could hardly believed they way she fought in that final battle at the hellmouth. She still polished her nails every night they went out and did her best to file those that broke in the inevitable slaying to some semblance of order. 

Adina was just a mess though. Only three days ago she'd been laying on the beach, watching her boyfriend fish in the surf when these three had approached her and explained the cold hard truth. Rona did most of the talking, Faith knowing full well that she wouldn't say the right things and Tina not feeling it was her place to explain things she still didn't really understand. That and the fact Rona was the only one who knew a word of Spanish. Now, here she stood. In her second battle of the day, fourth in her time as an informed slayer and still she hadn't dusted a single thing. Sweat was pouring down her face and her hands were trembling. She reeked of fear and drew the attention of every evil thing in the house.

Rona saw Faith measuring Adina and shared her concerns. Their eyes shifted to each other and both know what had to be done. In a sudden rush, they grabbed the arms of the nearest vamp and pulled him right to the edge of the bright sunshine. Faith pulled the prisoner's arms behind his back and nodded Rona to the others - no point letting one get a jump on her from behind. She turned herself and the vamp to face Adina and explained the situation. "Time to pop your cherry, babe."

"Do it, now!" Faith shouted, watching the girl hesitate, "Just drive it in hard and fast!"

Adina's hand flung out, bringing the point of the stake right towards the vampire's heart, but her trembling fingers lost their grip and the stake just pressed gently, then clattered to the floor, her clenched fist connecting ineffectively with the beast's chest. The girl recoiled in fear, wringing her hands as if to rub corruption of touching the undead from it.

The vamp chuckled, then growled, emboldened by the slayer's failure and, in a fit of glee, broke Faith's grip. She could do nothing but watch as he descended fang first on the young girl now slumping to the floor reaching for her lost weapon. Adrenaline and a power she'd never felt before surged through Adina though. Even as the vampire's fangs sunk into the tender flesh of her neck, her fingers were wrapping around the stake she'd lost. Eyes closed and breathe held, she gritted her teeth against the pain and could almost feel the unbeating heart behind her - her target. The stake came up in a flash under her left arm, slicing through her own skin near her bottom rib before sliding into the attacker's chest.

The young girl seemed to turn from pussycat to berserker in that moment. The warm blood still trickling from the wound in her neck, the taste of vampire ashes in her mouth and the smell of it filling her nose drove her into a leaping, slashing, stabbing frenzy. At first most of her attacks were ineffective, staking vampires in the gut, elbowing them in the face, but as Faith and Tina joined the offensive she settled down and drove the weapon deep into the chest immediately before her. 

Another vampire had been holding her arm, trying to restrain her as Faith and Rona had it's ally, but a quick, violent turn broke his grip and again she found her target. The vampire on her left was more prepared, parrying her first thrust with both hands, but leaving himself open for a punch to the throat with her free fist. As he then instinctively reached for his neck, she brought the stake straight up under his ribcage, her hand itself entering the creature's chest cavity before the wooden point found the wall of his heart and left a cloud behind.

Faith stood up from her final victim and turned to Adina. "0 to 4 in about 20 seconds. Not bad acceleration."

Adina sank to her knees and began to wheeze a little in the swirling dust. She tried to release her grip on the stake but the muscles of her right arm were cramping and seemed to lock her fist closed around it. She wouldn't be dropping it any time soon.


	4. ReGenesisC4

ReGenesis   
Chapter 4  
  


"Condemned," Kennedy thought, was a rather polite description of their new home. Trashed. Rotting. Unsafe. Filthy. About to collapse. . . any of those might have been more accurate. Still, this was it: the new Slayer HQ. Sulking about it wouldn't help, and it would set a bad example for the other girls.

"Alright," she said, turning to address the girls following her down the hallway, "I know it looks kinda nasty now, but just give us a couple days to clean up and it'll be just like home, right?"

Blank stares of incredulity and disgust were the slayers' only response, so she fell back on the lesser of evils argument, "Besides, anything beats another night sleeping on that bus." She turned to peek into one of the classrooms but stopped when she felt something nearly invisible across the doorway brush against her. "Oh! Ew, spider webs! Get them off me!"

Giles had let Kennedy lead the girls on their tour while he stood by the main entrance fuming as he tried to follow Xander's half of a cell phone call. It wasn't easy to concentrate as his conversation with Father Benedict raced through his mind repeatedly. If there were another option available, he'd move on - but where else could he find an empty school and an authority that would ostensibly legitimize their activities?

"Ok, thanks, Dawnie. You take care of those two and get them up here as soon as you can. Bye." Xander flipped the phone closed and met Giles' anxious look. "She's doing better. The hospital thinks she was just dehydrated or something. Maybe hit her head when she fell."

"She is OK now though?"

"I guess. She says it just took her by surprise. Next time it'll pay for messing with her."

"I've told her countless times to protect herself. That adequate shielding is imperative when. . ."

"Right, and I'm guessing she learned her lesson. It's just a good thing Dawn was there to break things up."

"Yes, she's certainly matured and learned a great deal in the past few years."

Xander fiddled with his eye patch, remembering the little girl who'd moved to Sunnydale with Buffy. Yes, they were false memories; but they were the only ones he had - and true enough given that they fit with his current reality. He tried sliding the patch a bit further to the right - as if it wasn't bad enough to be down an eye, the damned patch itself was uncomfortable as hell.

Concern overshadowed the fury in Giles' face as he also remembered a younger, more innocent Dawn and looked on the stream of young girls parading down the halls of what was to become a Slayer academy. "So many people," he said, "in so deep."

Xander stopped fiddling with his eye patch. "I know what you mean."

  
  


Two cars pulled off the highway a few miles south of the US-Mexico border and Faith got out of one, wiping the sweat from her forehead, then wiping the resulting grime on her pants. Rona exited the other car and walked over to her. "So, boss, you're really not coming up with us?"

"This is as far as I go. I try a legit border crossing and I'm going to end up back in the slammer for the rest of my life." She gazed north along the highway, toward the country she'd never left until a week ago. The country that held Boston and New Orleans and everything she'd ever known. A country she'd probably never see again. "You have Giles' directions?"

"Yeah," Rona replied, patting the hip pocket of her tight black jeans. "All right here." She looked long at the leader of their Mexican expedition. "Are you sure? I mean, maybe we can sneak back across, like we came in?"

"Nah. Too risky. Even if we did get across, I'd just be bad business to have around all those impressionable young slayers anyway - convicted murderer and all." She turned and looked back southward, toward her new home and made a sweeping gesture to the landscape, "Besides, I'm more the free agent/loose cannon type anyway."

"OK. . . " Rona said, trying to gauge just how much of that was true - some of it certainly was - and how much was just false bravado. "But not too loose."

Faith shot her a look. Just what was that supposed to mean?

"Adina did good in the end. I think she'll be all right. But she still has a lot to learn and you'll be the only one here to teach her. And anyone else we find down this way."

"Yeah, responsibility. It's a thing I'm learning."

  
  


A Winnie the Pooh nightlight grinned cheerfully at the rest of the toys in the nursery, casting it's warm yellow glow over the otherwise dark room and providing safe passage to the mother who walked in, cradling her infant daughter. The young woman kissed the sleeping baby on the forehead and laid her gently into the crib, careful not to disturb the deep innocent slumber of childhood.

She lingered a few moments, basking in that cherubic face and those stubby little fingers clutching at her blankie. The mother brushed a few imaginary strands of hair from her child's forehead and turned to leave when she heard the soft voice. She grinned - nearly giggled - at the serious intensity of those nonsensical syllables, then went to join her husband in bed while their pride and joy held discourse in her sleep.

The child continued muttering those grave words. Oh, it wasn't English - it wasn't any language previously spoken by man - but it certainly wasn't babbling. And it wasn't alone.


	5. ReGenesisC5

ReGenesis   
Chapter 5  
  


Most of the group was gathered in the once and future library. The past few hours had been filled with destruction and exertion, but now most of them sat and watched. The water damage from a cracked window and some faulty plumbing upstairs had left the plaster walls of the old room cracked and sagging to the point where Xander decided there was no option but to rip out the lath and plaster and start fresh with new drywall. Luckily he'd had an army of supernaturally strong helpers to handle most of the demolition for him.

Now though, came a pivotal moment: his first constructive act of the building's rehabilitation. He stood on a ladder, flanked by Michelle and Claudette, holding a sheet of drywall up to the ceiling for him. He adjusted the alignment a bit to the right, just centered on the beams, flush against the wall. He pulled a nail from one of the pouches on his toolbelt and hefted a hammer with his other hand. The nail carefully held in place, he tapped it with the hammer and turned his head to try to ensure that he was lined up correctly. He pulled the hammer back and swung to drive the nail.

"Ow, damn it!" he shouted, leaping, nearly falling from the ladder, dropping his hammer and clutching at the thumb which had taken the full force of his blow. "Ok, that does it. Screws. We go whole hog and screw all the dry wall up. Might take a little longer, but it's really the better way to go in the long run. Right?" His audience merely nodded ignorant assent as he reached for his drill and a box of drywall screws only to be distracted again by a squeal from Kennedy. He looked down to make sure his thumb hadn't bled on her. . . but then he saw what had her so excited and nearly let out a little squeal of his own.

"Makes sense to me. Screws ought to work better than pounding thumbs into it." Buffy walked around the Willow/Kennedy entity hugging itself into oneness before her to briefly embrace her friend, followed by Dawn.

"Well, if you two promise to comfort me like this every time, I just might be tempted to try." Dawn grinned and moved over to chat with some of the new slayers she'd gotten to know back in Sunnydale.

"So," said Buffy looking around the large room, "The library?"

"Yup. I guess Giles has some things being shipped in from storage and needed a 'reasonably safe, somewhat clean environment in which to store them'." He grinned, looking up at the ductwork in the ceiling. "I'm doing a little better than that. Fine particle air filtration, independent humidity control, dry fire suppression system. . . Nothing short of another apocalypse is going to hurt these books," he said with a wry grin that faded quickly.

"That all sounds kind of expensive to someone who has absolutely no idea what it means. What happened to the shoestring budget?"

"Still tied up in knots. But there was a lot of community interest in seeing this old place restored. A lot of alumni contributions and companies willing to do some pro-bono work."

"Free stuff huh? It's nice to be a church."

Willow came over, Kennedy still attached to her from behind, and looked with concern at Xander's swelling thumb then up to the patch covering his eye. "And how are we healing?"

"Oh, good. Your mighty Wiccan magic kept it from getting infected and it's just a nice clean... hole in my head. Always said I needed another one."

"Well, the antibiotics kept the infection away, I just. . . Caleb was unclean in other ways. But I wish I could have done something more. . ."

"Hey, Wil, with your help it healed in days instead of weeks. I'm not too keen on risking a chance to redefine "evil eye" if you know what I'm saying. I'm dealing. I mean, hey, screws instead of nails - what the heck?"

"Well, at least we don't have to worry about it happening again. With all these slayers out kicking evil's puny little ass, you can just stick to teaching."

"Teaching? Willow. . . teach what? Shop? I don't know what I'm going to do once we get this building's back in shape but . . . Maybe you noticed I barely managed to graduate high school - how am I supposed to teach it?"

Dawn rose from her conversation on the floor and approached the now silent group. "From the heart?" She had their attention. "Ok, so maybe calculus: not your thing. That doesn't mean you don't have as much to offer these girls as anyone else here. It's not all about learning how to fight or getting a diploma. They have to learn how to _be_ slayers. _Why_ to be slayers." She glanced apologetically at her sister, and then continued with her train of thought. "There's no one better to learn that from than you, Xander."

Xander looked at her for moment, again flashing back to the whiny, bratty little kid. The clepto. The Key. He shook his head. "Except maybe you."

  
  


It's funny. When you spend all your time in big cities, swank little burgs like Sunnydale, or especially prison, you forget how dark the night is. There's always a light on somewhere, and it usually seems to be shining right in your face. With the new moon not helping at all, a solid overcast blocking any starlight and not a streetlamp or shop sign in sight, this small Mexican village was delivering Faith a disturbing reminder of the dark.

It had been a long few nights as she and Adina worked their way slowly back towards Guaymas. It seemed like every evil thing was sticking its head up to get a sense of what was going on in the wake of the First's assault on the Sunnydale Hellmouth. Any who stuck their heads up near this team soon lost them. A high-pitched scream up ahead and to her right suggested to Faith that something simply had not yet learned that lesson.

Both slayers sprinted toward the sound, each tripping several times on the uneven gravel road in the pitch darkness, but as they got closer there was light coming from an open doorway between two buildings. Apparently the vamp hadn't wheedled his way into the woman's home, but she'd stepped beyond the portal herself and he'd seized the opportunity to drink her right there. So engrossed was he in his meal, and blinded by the pool of light in which he stood, surrounded by darkness, that he didn't see his attackers until it was too late for even his vampiric reflexes to save him. 

They each grabbed an arm just as his fangs pulled clear of her skin and ripped him free from his victim. Restrained thus, he presented little challenge and Adina quickly drove her stake home through his back. His dust settled quickly between them and they went over to check the woman.

"Muerto."

"Yup."

"Perra estúpida."

"Maybe. More likely she just had no idea."

Adina shook her head, already finding it difficult to remember a time when she didn't know about vampires - when they hadn't defined her entire existence. The two slayers turned and continued their journey.

"¿usted nos piensa verá a más vampiros esta noche?" asked Adina.

"más vampiros? Esta noche?" Faith echoed. It still took her a moment to translate, but she was learning fast out of necessity. Adina knew some English but, when in Rome... She sighed and admitted, "I wouldn't be surprised. . ."

"No sería sorprendido. . ."

"That's what I said."

  
  


Giles pulled a chair over to the phone in his new quarters - formerly a nun's office in the rectory - and dialed information for Los Angeles. "Yes, I'd like the number for Angel Investigations, please." A computerized voice delivered the information then he hung up and dialed again. After the first ring there was an odd click and the next ring had a slightly different tone to it.

A woman's voice answered, "Wolfram and Hart, Angel's office, this is Harmony how can I help you?"

Giles sputtered, "Wolfr. . . Angel's. . . Harmony?"

"Mr. Giles is that you? Oh, I heard about what happened in Sunnydale! Chalk another one up for the good guys, right? I was going to send a card or something, but then I thought, oh, I'm so sure Hallmark makes a "congratulations on averting the apocalypse" card. And then, I didn't know where to send it so. . ."

"Yes, still Harmony." Giles concern began to grow. Harmony was a vampire, however difficult it was to accept that as threatening, and last he heard she and Angel's group hadn't parted on the best of terms. "But why are you answering Angel's phone?"

"Well, I'm his secretary and that's what he told me to do. Not real big on the telecommunicating, let me tell you. I think sometimes he. . ."

"Harmony, please, just. . . does Wesley still work there?"

"Oh, sure, he's head of Wolfram & Hart's research department now."

"Department. . . You said that before, 'Wolfram and Hart'. I thought they. . . I mean, since when does Wesley work for a law firm?"

"Well, since Angel and his 'crew' took it over. I mean there are actually rumors that Wes. . ."

"What do you mean they took it over? Oh, never mind just. . . could I speak to him, please?"

"I'm sorry, he's out of the office at the moment. Can I take a message?"

"Oh, I doubt it. Is Angel in?"

"Sorry, he's out with Wes. Some sort of Booby demon sacrifice to stop or something."

"A Boo-Ghe demon in Los Angeles? Well, is anyone from Angel Investigations in? Cordelia? Maybe... what was his name, Gunn?"

"Cordy? No she. . . " Harmony's voice trembled for a moment over her old friend's name before she regained her best professional secretary voice, "Mr. Gunn is in, yes. Just a moment."

Giles' brain quivered with the bizarre information he was getting, but he dismissed it mostly as a normal reaction to trying to have a conversation with Harmony Kendall. Death had done nothing to improve that girl's cogency.

The voicemail system spoke as Giles awaited his transfer, announcing that the party he was attempting to reach was "Mr. Charles Gunn, head of the legal department of the esteemed multinational, interdimensional law firm Wolfram and Hart."

"Gunn," he answered succinctly.

"Mr. Gunn? This is Rupert Giles. I don't believe we've spoken, but I, um, knew Angel while he was in Sunnydale and I was a colleague of Wesley Wyndam Pryce at one time."

"Of course, Mr. Giles, I've heard all about you. How can I help you."

"Well, I. . . I was actually calling to speak with Wesley about any contacts he may still have from the council - I suppose I'll have to check back. But. . . what on Earth is going on out there?"


	6. ReGenesisC6

ReGenesis   
Chapter 6  


**A/N: Sorry, I ran a little long here. Chapter 7 is the conclusion**

  
  


In a dim, half-remodeled room in the old Catholic school, a witch sat surrounded by slayers, weaving a spell to locate other chosen ones. Into this familiar spell, she wound a new thread. A tendril of power designed both to protect from and to seek out danger.

As she drew her fingers from point to point on her slayer map, she called out details to Andrew beside her, taking note of each slayer they would contact soon. Always though, she kept on guard, wary of any intrusion into her sphere of power. Then it came. If she hadn't felt the violation in her own mind, the searing heat flooding her searching fingertip, she would have known something was happening from the indrawn and held breath of those around her.

"It just looks so. . . evil." Andrew felt compelled to state the obvious as the menacing red glow gradually washed out the white points of light Willow had guided into existence. He dropped his notebook and stepped back behind Giles, who stood fretting and fuming at the magic that was far beyond his power to control.

"Can you see it. The source?" Giles asked.

Willow opened her eyes and gazed quizzically into the crimson miasma. There was an odor to it that she hadn't noticed as it overwhelmed her before. A clinging scent of fresh talcum powder and soiled diapers. There was something she could see: "Babies?"

"Babies?" her audience asked in chorus.

"Somehow this glow is coming from babies. A lot of infant girls, all over the place. . . It's almost like the spell is finding them even though they aren't slayers. I think maybe they're potentials. All of them seem very young - probably born since the spell was done to activate everyone else."

"So, the little babies attacked you in the hotel?" Buffy asked, cocking an eyebrow.

"No, I don't think they . . ."

"It's just the spell then?" asked Giles. "That doesn't quite follow. Potentials should be more difficult to find than slayers - they should hardly be able to cloud a spell meant to find more powerful manifestations of the . . ."

"No, I think something's feeding off them."

"Ooh, it eats babies?" Andrew drew further back in horror. "Really evil."

"No. No, it doesn't eat them," Willow responded, casting an annoyed glance toward the back of the group. "I mean feeding off their power. . . or maybe _using_ their lack of power or something. It - it's using them as a conduit to this spell. Coming at me through them."

"Can you see any further. See what it is that's controlling this?" Giles asked.

"There is something," Willow said, concentrating on one child in particular and trying to follow the power backward from it. " I see fire, a bright red fire - I guess that's what the red light is from. And shadows. . . Whoa. Big antlers."

"Antlers?"

"It's like a person, but with big Bullwinkle antlers dripping some kind of goo."

"A chaos demon?" Giles asked, puzzled. "Can you tell anything else about it? Who it is? Where it is? Why it would be doing this?"

"Yeah, I know where it is. It looks like we're going to have a chance to give Faith Gunn's good news in person."

  
  


"Yes," said Father Benedict, inspecting the work Xander was directing as several slayers applied the first coat of primer to the freshly drywalled library. "You've done an excellent job. The place hasn't looked this good in years."

"Well. . .thanks. I had quite a crew to work with." Xander stood stiffly beside the priest, memories of the last time he saw a clerical collar this close fresh in his mind.

"And has Mr. Giles decided on a color yet?" The boy was clearly not comfortable, and Father Benedict supposed he could understand that. Perhaps discussing the work would help him relax.

"He said as soon as he gets back. Definitely so we can have it done in time for the full moon when Willow plans to do her protection spell."

The Catholic clergyman's eyes darkened at the thought. He'd never doubted that pagan rites would be performed in this space, but the sheer audacity of a Wiccan blessing being placed on this place of God. . . "I'm sure." He paused for a moment to regain his composure. "Back? He's gone now?"

"Yeah, Giles and Buffy went of to Mexico to track down some Chaos demons who were wreaking unholy havoc with Wil's Slayer locating magic."

"Chaos indeed." Benedict's fury grew to the point where he could barely contain himself, "He knew perfectly well that the Vatican's direct representative would be arriving shortly and now he's fled to Mexico? Leaving all of you here to. . ."

"He'll be back soon," said Willow coming through the doors behind them. Kennedy followed immediately after her and began to collect the toiling slayers for dinner. "Tomorrow if all goes well."

The priest looked from Witch to Slayer, trying very hard not to notice their rumpled clothes, tussled hair, the fact they had come in together and alone. "Tomorrow," he said. "I certainly hope so." He strode out without another look for the work he'd come to inspect.

Willow watched him leave before saying, "Well. He seems nice."

"Real charmer." Xander looked back at his workers, deserting their posts. "So, you an Kennedy have dinner ready?"

"Yeah, Andrew finally got to kick us out of the kitchen once we were ready to serve. I don't think he was impressed by our culinary skills."

"Now that he has that big industrial kitchen to feed everyone from, instead of just scrounging the Summers' home?"

"Yeah, though I think he did have some requests for you in there. . . You coming?"

"Sure. I'm just going to finish up a few things in here first, then I'll be along."

Willow grinned at her old friend and walked out. Even if she had been a little upset about Giles and Buffy leaving her behind, at least that meant a few calm dinners and relaxation before planning in earnest just how the whole slayer academy thing would work.

Xander's smile had evaporated by the time Willow stepped out through the library doors and he turned to the paint rollers left drying around the room. "Yup. Just a few things to clean up first."

  
  


A smooth trans-Atlantic jumbo-jet flight was a lot different than what Giles got in the little puddle jumper he'd hired to take them from Mexico City Airport to a remote landing strip nearer their destination. He bounced through turbulence, suffered innumerable, inexplicable odors coming presumably from either the pilot or the engine, and to top it all off, ground his teeth at the screeching sound of the plane's brakes or steering or something as it listed hard right on the narrow runway on which they finished their journey.

He nearly stumbled over Buffy as she practically skipped down the steps, pointedly not looking at him as she grinned broadly - clearly quite amused about something. He assumed it wasn't meeting again with Faith, as her smile seemed to falter a bit when she caught sight of the Second Slayer and her protégé.

The two were leaning against a beat up old black sedan just off the side of the paved runway. Both wore some mixture of black denim and black leather and they were passing what Giles could only hope was a cigarette between them in the deepening twilight. If Faith hadn't been a good six inches taller than the other girl, it would have been difficult to tell them apart. Faith handed the butt back and stepped forward.

"Hey, B. Giles. I'd like you to meet Adina." She said in an unusually calm, nearly formal voice. "My partner in terror down here south o' the old border."

"Yes, of course," said Giles, now regaining control of his inner ear. "Adina, yes. Rona told us about you when she arrived in Cleveland. I trust you're coping well enough? I know it's difficult . . ."

"Uh, Giles?" Said Faith. "In Mexico, we generally hable Espanol."

"Oh, um. Yes o-of course. Um, Hola, Adina. Mi nombre es Senoir Giles."

oth Faith and Adina let out a grunt of a chuckle and Adina held up a hand to interrupt. "Si, I know Senoir Giles. Faith es just being difficult. I do hable cierto Ingles."

"Oh, well excellent then. Shall we?" Giles said indicating the car as the plane behind them began revving up for it's return flight. 

The four slid into the vehicle with Faith at the drivers seat and Buffy and Giles in the back. Faith muttered to her companion, "Well, si estoy siendo difícil. . ."

Adina ignored her and turned back to face the new arrivals. "So, what news from Cleveland?"

"Quite a bit actually. Faith, have you isolated our destination?"

"Yup. Big old abandoned monastery. We scoped it out this afternoon. Perfect spooky antlered thing hang out."

"I have a few more details on that we can cover on the way there, but there's another matter I've had some news back on since we spoke." Giles paused not entirely sure how to approach the matter. "About your. . . legal status."

"My. . . you mean being a murderer?" Faith cocked and eyebrow at Giles in the rear-view mirror and he saw none of the shock he'd feared on Adina's face. Clearly she had some knowledge of this.

"Well, yes - or perhaps more accurately about your _not_ being a murderer any longer."

"You're going to change the past? Sounds like some pretty major mojo."

"No, but we can change the records. It turns out Angel's 'crew' as it were has effectively taken over Wolfram and Hart. With their - er 'legal resources' Mr. Gunn assures me they can arrange to have any offenses expunged from your record."

Faith flicked on her headlights as the sun set over the ridge behind them and furrowed her brow. The last she'd seen Angel, Gunn and the rest they'd been trying not to die as a result of their own actions - now they'd taken over a big evil corporation? "Well. That is quite a bit of news."

Giles tried to gauge Faith's expression and the intonation of her words. "I thought you'd be a bit more excited than that. I mean, there's a lot to do and no longer being pursued for. . . what you did before will certainly make it all much simpler. You can even come back to Cleveland for a while, maybe relax and help instruct the young Slayers - there's certainly a lot of that to be done."

"Yeah. Expunged." Faith looked over at Adina, whose wide eyes were swiveling between Giles and Faith. "You want to see Cleveland? I hear it's bitchin' when they light the lake on fire."

"¿El lago? Pero. . . but what about los vampiros here?"

"She has un punto, Giles. I mean, you might be surprised, but while the boys and girls from Sunnydale were keeping people safe in suburbia, things have been literally going to hell down here. I doubt its coincidence that your chaos demons set up shop south of the border."

Giles' lips drew tight as he considered some of what Faith had just suggested, but he opted for a diplomatic response. "Of course, you're under no obligation to come back with us. I do have a list of the Slayers Willow has identified in Mexico and Central America. They may take a while to find, but it is also . . ."

"Parada!" shouted Adina, her faced pressed against her window. "Tire del . . . pull the car over"

Buffy and Giles clutched their seats in shock as Faith slammed on the brakes and brought the car to a skidding halt along the side of the road. Adina leapt out before they were even fully stopped and Faith threw the door open as she slid the transmission into park. The pair in the back seat exchanged a glance and then followed.

When Buffy's eyes adjusted sufficiently to the darkness that she could discern figures struggling a hundred yards or so away she broke into a sprint that Giles had no hope of keeping up with. 

In the brief time it took Buffy to cover the distance between them she saw Faith and Adina dust three vampires. They worked astoundingly well as a team, with just a grunt here and a point there, their efforts were perfectly coordinated for maximum killing with minimum effort. Buffy pulled the stake she had sheathed at the small of her back and went for one that seemed about to get the upper hand on Adina, but Faith stepped in without noticing her and took the creature out with a simple thrust. The momentum of Faith's strike spun the partners around, putting Adina and herself in position to take out the final two vamps.

Giles jogged toward the slayers, huffing a bit and looking around bewildered. "I wonder what all that was about? All those vampires out in the middle of nowhere?"

Faith fixed a hard gaze at her former watcher as she briefly embraced Adina and praised her, "buen trabajo." The Mexican slayer nodded and returned her stake to the inside pocket of her jacket and began to walk back toward the car. "Yeah. Lets get going. Those chaos demons aren't going to take care of themselves."

Back in the car, Faith explained. "That's what I was telling you, Giles. They're everywhere. I mean, this seems like the middle of nowhere, but there's probably 5 farmhouses in a couple miles radius. Not a lot - but enough to feed a pack of vampires for a while. Then they move on." 

"Well that's entirely atypical. It's only in singular instances - the rise of a particularly charismatic and powerful leader such as The Master or Kakistos for instance - that vampires even travel in large groups like that. I've never heard of them doing it just to. . ."

"But," interrupted Buffy looking pointedly at Giles, "apparently they are doing it here. Or at least they have been." She shifted her gaze to the slayers in the front seat. "You two make one hell of a team."

Faith looked at Buffy almost defensively in the mirror, but her expression softened when she saw that Buffy was being sincere. "Thanks, B. We try."

"You do more than try. And Adina? You've known you were a slayer now for what? A matter of days? A week? That's quite the proof of progress right there. You must have a pretty good teacher."

Faith shook her head and said, "She was a natural." Buffy's cocked eyebrow and disbelieving stare brought her shrug and add, "Who'da guessed?"


End file.
